Dear Florham Park Neighbor,

Now that I have been mayor for more than a year, our Borough team has set an ambitious agenda to address some of the important challenges we faced upon taking office. These challenges included $6 million in tax appeals, new PBA and DPW contracts, a significant loss of State aid, as well as some major development projects and some pending affordable housing regulations (COAH). I am proud to say our Borough team has faced these challenges and we have accomplished a great deal in one year.

The partnerships formed by Florham Park have enabled us to accomplish a series of improvements in order to respond to the many of the challenges that faced our Borough at the beginning of my term. We have worked to improve recreation facilities, provided for a more stable financial future, consolidated levels of government, built upon shared services, fought aggressively against tax appeals filed against the Borough, welcomed the New York Jets to town -- and accomplished this all while reducing spending.

This is not to say that our town will not continue to face serious challenges in the near future. Florham Park will be ground-zero for the state-wide Council on Affordable Housing, or "COAH" legislation. Throughout the summer months, the state legislature enacted a myriad of new regulations which will increase the burden on our municipality and on all new building in our community. These new State regulations will impact Florham Park residents directly. The Borough Council and I have been working together to form a strategic plan that will best address Florham Park's needs as well as ensure compliance with current state regulations. In addition, we have joined litigation to oppose the new COAH regulations and are currently working with State legislators from both political parties to propose new legislation which would lessen the burden and impact on Florham Park. I have also joined the State League of Municipalities Mayor's Committee on COAH. The mayors on this committee and I continue to meet with State legislators in Trenton to share with them how COAH, as it is written, will significantly negatively impact our community. This Committee is currently lobbying for a change in the law.

Florham Park's tradition of partnership continued with the implementation of shared services in 2008. One example is the mutually beneficial partnership with our school system The Borough has formed a great partnership with schools Superintendent Dr. William Ronzitti and the Board of Education, as well as private companies working to share the available resources and to lessen the impact on taxpayers' pockets. There is an excellent level of cooperation between the Department of Public Works and the Board of Education and their staff. The "One Day, One School" project has produced a savings to Borough residents once again. Florham Park has decided to enter into a new level of shared services with the Borough of Madison. We have a new shared court arrangement that looks to be financially prudent and beneficial to both municipalities. We have also entered into a Board of Health contract with Pequannock Township which has saved the Borough over $56,000 as well as provided an improved level of service.

It goes without saying that on both a national and state-wide level, municipalities have been experiencing fiscal constraints because of the economy. These constraints will continue and, in fact, the headlines in recent news spoke of further cuts in State aid for both school districts and municipalities in 2009. We are embracing these new challenges by engaging in more "out of the box" thinking, and working together to find ways to make Florham Park efficient. These efforts will provide for a more stable financial future by consolidating levels of government and pursuing shared services and grants. Various groups throughout the Borough have pulled together to assist in this effort. In light of the fiscal restraints placed on municipalities, in 2009, the Borough will aggressively seek grants for municipal projects. Recently, the Historic Preservation Commission received a grant for improvements to the Little Red School House. We would like to open the school house to the public and bring the symbol of our town to the stature it deserves.

Community involvement and volunteerism have also been of immeasurable assistance. In 2008 non-profit foundations were formed for the Gazebo Committee and the Senior Citizens Club. This will enable these groups to obtain tax deductable donations from private individuals and lessen the burden on taxpayers. In addition a non-profit Florham Park Athletic Foundation was launched, similar to those in many other communities, to raise private monies for much needed recreation improvements such as turf and lights as well as a new recreation facility on Elm Street. In 2009, the Borough will continue to be fiscally mindful while not reducing the services expected and deserved by Florham Park residents.

Throughout 2008 we have been committed to keeping Borough spending as low as possible, while maintaining our coveted AAA municipal credit rating. Evidence of our progress in re-establishing the Borough's fiscal stability is found in our tax rate for 2008 which is currently $1.19. We had one of the lowest increases in tax rates countywide and Florham Park is second only to Harding Township in having the lowest tax rate in the County.

One of our most daunting challenges in 2008 was the realization that the Borough was facing a projected $6 million dollars in tax appeal exposure, requiring the Borough to issue bonds for the monies. Before my term began, $3.3 million of those dollars had already been spent in previously negotiated settlements. The Council decided to take action and hire a new "tax team". Through the aggressive efforts of our tax team led by our new Tax Assessor Jim Gibbs, only $700,000 of the bonded $2.7 million has been spent in settling all of the remaining appeals.

As an additional step in making the Borough as streamlined and cost efficient as possible, we decided to bring the Sewerage Authority into the Borough, transitioning it from a separate authority to an in-house Borough utility. This will provide the Borough with even more opportunities for the sharing of resources while streamlining layers of government.

The Senior Center has seen great progress in the past year. The lot has been cleared and recently, both the building plans and site design have received the necessary approvals from the Morris County Planning Board and the Morris County Soil Conservation District. The architectural plans are being finalized and we will break ground on the center this year.

The Recreation Committee has worked hard in 2008 in planning to provide safer and improved recreation facilities. The Committee put a tremendous amount of work and effort into The Recreation Master Plan, which has now been finalized and certified by an independent consultant. This outstanding document is a roadmap and plan for the future of Florham Park Recreation for many years to come and I applaud the Committee for all they have done. We also welcomed a new Recreation Director, Adam Lieb, who has been a great addition to the Borough team and shares our vision for the future of recreation in Florham Park. In 2009, we are looking to establish Teen Nights in the Borough, to give this often overlooked group activities geared to their interests.

We are proud of the many community accomplishments this past year. Throughout the summer, the Borough was home to yet another successful Gazebo concert series. This 4th of July, we had the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Afton Fire House Museum, thanks to the efforts of the Fire Department and Bud Tunis. These traditions such as these which recall our past also help us look toward the future.

In 2008 the Environmental Commission was elevated to a new level and began a series of important improvements on the municipality's Spring Garden Lake. Their plans for 2009 will continue to improve the environment in Florham Park. The Commission continues to work on a long term sustainability plan for the lake area and create a meaningful resource for the entire community for years to come. You may track their activities on their website at http://www.florhamenvironmental.org.

As 2008 was busy with a multitude of challenges and accomplishments, 2009 will hold its own wealth of notable events and challenges as well. I am confident that together, we can meet them head-on. I am proud to serve with this Council, work with our dedicated Department heads, and am proud of the work of our Florham Park Police Department, , DPW workers, Fire Department, First Aid Squad and the multitude of other volunteers on our Committees, Boards, and Commissions that selflessly give freely of their time and talents to make this community so special to all of us.

Bill Gates once said, "Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning." Florham Park is similar. One hundred and ten years ago, Florham Park's founding fathers gathered to form a partnership based on a commitment to the fledgling town and hope for future generations. This tradition of partnership continues in Florham Park today. Our new, or changed, relationships will help us to hand on to our children an efficient, financially secure Florham Park and a place in which we will all be proud to live, work and play. Although the Borough continues to face significant challenges, I am confident that we have a solid foundation to weather the current economic storm. We intend to be fiscally responsible while attempting a non-reduction in Borough Services that our residents currently enjoy and deserve.

May all of you have health and happiness in 2009 and God Bless you all!

Sincerely,

R. Scott Eveland, Mayor